Nothing Like Attraction
by checkerboxed
Summary: [Oneshot] DracoGinny. Truth or Dare wasn't so bad, she realized, if you just knew how to play the game.


**Nothing like Attraction  
**_--Checkerboxed  
_----&----  
_disclaimer_: I don't own anything, really, except the plot. And a few of the original characters.  
----&----

Ginny Weasley was curled up on the windowseat, yawning. It was only eight-thirty in the evening, but she had stayed up until about three the night before to finish a Potions essay, and was exhausted. The one thing she wanted to do right now was go to sleep; not be forced into playing a game of Truth or Dare with a bunch of sixth and seventh years. Lavender Brown, Jennifer Tilley, and Parvati Patil were sprawled on the bed closest to the windowseat. Hermione Granger sat on the floor, leaning against the wall, while Katie Bell and Christina Rafferty sat cross legged on the floor nearby.

"Ginny," said Parvati, "Truth or Dare?" They were fifteen minutes into the game; already, Katie had agreed to wearing the Gryffindor Lion hat, trademarked by Luna Lovegood, and Parvati had been dared to kiss Neville Longbottom. Ginny screwed up her face and chose Truth. That way, she figured, she wouldn't be stuck with wearing a fake pimple on her forehead or something equally ridiculous.

Parvati pondered a moment, her legs dangling off the bed. Then she smirked, looking smug. "If you had to marry any member of the staff, who would it be? That includes caretakers and ghosts, by the way." Next to her, Lavender grinned— it was a well known fact that her choice would have been Firenze, the centaur.

Ginny paled. There was no safe answer to that question, because no matter whom she said she'd be ribbed about it for the rest of the year. "I don't want to answer that question. It's gross." Several girls nodded their heads in agreement, but Parvati took no notice.

"So you agree to accept a Dare, as punishment?"

Ginny sighed. "Fine."

Parvati grinned, her eyes dancing. "Good. I dare you to snog Draco Malfoy."

----&----

"Please don't make me do this," Ginny whispered. She and Christina were crouched in an alcove on the third floor, peering around the stone wall at the oncoming sixth year. Ginny knew this could not end well— which was why she was furiously pleading with her friend to let her end it before it even began.

"You accepted," her friend hissed, "That's the rules." She ducked farther into the alcove as Draco Malfoy neared their hiding place, and glared at Ginny. "Go!"

Ginny glowered at her, and then straightened, sighing in reluctance. Stepping out from behind the wall, she tossed her hair over her shoulder with one hand and straightened her robes with the other. Then she raised her eyes to stare at him, attempting to catch his attention.

Malfoy glanced at her briefly, and kept walking. He was almost abreast with her when she reached out and gripped his arm. "Hey," she said.

He glanced down at her, clearly amused. "Let go of me."

Undaunted, Ginny grinned up at him. "Don't be like that," she said, walking two fingers up his arm, "People would start to think you don't like me." Her grin was flirtatious; if she was going to do this, she was going to do this right.

"I don't. I rather hate you, actually." He shook her off and resumed walking, his long robes swishing against the stone floor.

She hurried to keep up. "Only rather? I'm flattered."

He turned to sneer at her. "Apparently no one's given you any compliments lately. I'm not surprised. You're not really all that attractive, are you?"

Ginny sped up and moved to stand in front of him, forcing him to come to halt in order to avoid running into her. She placed a hand on his chest and pushed, gently, backing him up against the wall. "Oh, you'd be surprised at how many guys find me attractive." She stood just close enough to him to see the hints of color in his eyes; it was her experience that the closer she was to a boy the more they listened.

Smirking, Malfoy ran a finger down the side of her face. "Lust isn't the same thing as attraction, Weaselette," he said, "I don't think they want you for your body." They both knew this was a lie. Ginny was attractive, more so than many girls her age, and it didn't help that in the past year she had grown two inches and lost most of her freckles.

She laughed, throwing her head back. He reached out and traced the line of her neck with a finger, slowly, memorizing the curve of her throat. Ginny lowered her head and stared at him, her eyes locked on his, a smile building. "Isn't that a good thing?"

He withdrew his hand. "No," he said, "It's not." He flashed her a grin that didn't reach his eyes. "With _your_ personality, you'll never keep any self-respecting guy."

Ginny wasn't phased. "And you'd know because...?"

"I've heard rumors," Malfoy said offhandedly, "But I wouldn't know personally."

She grinned. "Exactly." Changing the subject, she said, "Ever played Truth or Dare?"

He stared at her, a slow smile growing as he realized what she meant. "You've been dared, haven't you?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "You guessed correctly, Malfoy, so stand still so I can get this over with. I've got better things to do." And with this foreplay, she reached up, threaded her fingers through his hair, and pulled his head down towards her. She stayed like this for a moment, their breath intermingling, and then she tilted her head up so that their lips collided.

There was a pause. And then, very suddenly, he had them flipped so that she was the one with her back to the wall. She opened her eyes, pulling back, staring up at him. For a moment, he watched her, both hands pressed against the wall on either side of her head, before he lowered his head and kissed her hungrily, her hands still in his hair. He brought one arm down to wrap around her waist, holding her up and pulling her closer.

She sighed against him, her mind whirling. This was not what she had in mind when she accepted the dare. It was supposed to have been a quick peck on the lips and then she'd be gone— to hell with Parvati and her 'snog' specifications. But Malfoy was so talented at what he was doing that she couldn't pass the opportunity up. And how many Gryffindors could say they'd snogged Draco Malfoy? It'd be a conversation starter at the very least.

And then she found herself unable to think anymore, lost in the heady sensation of his kiss. He was drawing circles on the small of her back with his thumb, creating shivers which ran up and down her spine. Ginny ran her fingers through his hair, roughly, and then let go with one hand so she could grip the arm that he had wrapped around her.

They broke apart, the need for air greater than the need for each other. She kept her eyes closed, sure that if she opened them something would change; they'd revert back to their normal, hateful relationship, where this was only a dare.

Malfoy pulled back, brushing a thumb across her eyelids. "You can go, if you want," he told her, his voice slightly strangled. When she didn't move, he sighed. "We can't do this, you know."

She opened her eyes. "Do what?"

His face was flushed, his hair disheveled as he stared down at her. "This," he whispered, brushing his lips against hers once more, swiftly.

Ginny stared at him. "It was just a dare," she said, as if that was all that it had been. Then, grinning, she turned and walked off down the hall.

Moments later, after Malfoy had turned and strode the other way, out of sight, Ginny came running back down the hall. She poked her head around the alcove, where Christina was still sitting, her eyes closed. "He's gone," she said, glancing once more down the hall in the direction he had left. His kisses had opened something in her that she had never known she'd closed, and now that he was gone she felt empty.

Christina opened her eyes and stood up, groaning. "Could you have taken any longer?" she complained, dusting her pants. "I had to stop watching. I felt like a voyeur."

Ginny grinned despite her new hollowness. "He's a good kisser."

Her friend rolled her eyes disgustedly. "He's a Slytherin." They headed toward the closest set of stairs and back toward Gryffindor Tower. Christina peered at Ginny. "Are you okay?"

Ginny shook her head a little to clear her thoughts. "Yeah," she said, not looking at her friend, "But remind me not to agree to play Truth or Dare ever again."

"You looked like you were enjoying yourself."

Ginny grinned wryly. "Who wouldn't? Like I said—" She stopped when they turned a corner and nearly ran into Pansy Parkinson, who looked more pug faced then normal.

She regarded them with disdain. "Get out of the way," she snapped, "I'm looking for someone."

Christina and Ginny glanced at each other. "The Amazing Bouncing Ferret, by any chance?" asked Christina, her face perfectly straight. "We just parted, actually."

Pansy looked suspicious. "What was he doing with _you_?"

"Actually—" began Ginny, but Christina cut her off.

"He was snogging Ginny, actually," she said calmly, and then gripped Ginny by the arm and towed her down the hall, giggling.

Ginny glared at her once they were out of sight. "I don't think—"

"Oh, don't complain, Ginny Weasley," said Christina, laughing, "Her face was priceless!" She sucked in her cheeks and frowned, pinching her whole face together in an almost perfect imitation. Ginny stared at her for a moment, and then laughed reluctantly.

After a moment, they both dissolved into laughter, leaning against the wall to support each other. "I can just imagine her confronting him," Christina choked out between giggles. "_She was lying, wasn't she, Drakey? Wasn't she? What do you _mean _she's a better kisser than I am?_"

Her voice sounded so much like Pansy's when she said this that they both dissolved into giggles again, gasping for breath and leaning on each other. When they had finally calmed down, Ginny sighed and straightened. "We should probably head back."

"They'll want to hear all about it."

She nodded grimly. "I won't ever live this down, will I?"

Christina shook her head, a wide smile on her face. "Well, maybe once Hermione and your brother get together people will forget about your... _escapades_."

Ginny groaned. "You're right. I won't ever live this down."

----&----

"Ginny," Ron began, his voice dangerous, "Have you been snogging Malfoy?"

Ginny looked up from her book and gave her brother a withering look. "I don't know where you get your ideas, Ron." She nodded greeting to Hermione and Harry, who stood behind her brother, and turned back to her book.

Ron looked relieved. "So the rumors weren't true?"

"What rumors?"

"Holly Chase, in our Defense Against the Dark Arts class, was rather loud about it," Hermione said, cutting in. "Ron, we told Hagrid we'd—"

Ginny stared at her brother, incredulous. "Since when does anyone _ever_ listen to Holly Chase's gossip? If you're going to accuse me of something like that, at least get it from a credible source."

Ron opened his mouth to argue, but Harry stepped in. "Ron, we've really got to go."

He exhaled, glowering. "I just don't like the idea that people are spreading rumors about you, Ginny." he said, and then muttered a goodbye as his friends dragged him out of the Common Room. Hermione glanced back and gave Ginny an apologetic look, and Ginny rolled her eyes. Typical Ron, getting all worked up over a rumor.

She returned to her book, only to discover that she couldn't focus on the words. She'd been this way all morning, unable to focus on anything. Silently thanking the Powers that Be for making it a Saturday, Ginny slammed her book shut and stood up, deciding that what she needed was a good flying session. She strode up to her dormitory and dropped her book on her bedside table. She glanced outside toward the pitch, and swore angrily under her breath. Ravenclaw was holding a practice.

Ginny wandered aimlessly down the stairs and out of Gryffindor Tower, bored. She paid no attention to where she was going; instead, she immersed herself in her thoughts.

Last night had changed something for her, and she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She thought it had something to do with Harry. When she saw him earlier, his presence didn't ignite butterflies in her stomach like it usually did. She had put it off as lack of sleep— she didn't fall asleep until midnight last night, and even then her dreams had been filled with blonde hair and kisses— but now she wasn't so sure. She had the feeling that this wasn't a temporary thing. Ginny was willing to bet that tomorrow, there would be no butterflies when she saw Harry.

This disturbed her.

She didn't want to think that maybe it was because of Malfoy that she didn't feel the same about Harry. That would be... that would be like... she fancied him or something. Which she didn't.

Obviously.

Ginny turned a corner and stopped dead in her tracks. Her feet had led her toward the dungeons, right to a painting of a blood red rose. She stared at it for a moment, and was about to turn away, when the picture swung open and a boy she recognized from Malfoy's circle of friends came out. He looked her up and down for a moment, and then smirked at her. "Can't figure out what he sees in you," he said snarkily.

She glared at him. "Who?"

The boy laughed. "I'll go get him."

Ginny frowned. "Who are you talking about?" she asked, confused, but he had already reentered what she supposed was the Slytherin Common Room. She sighed, turning. She was willing to bet that the boy had been talking about Malfoy, and he was the last person she wanted to see just then. About to head back up the hall, she stopped when the portrait slammed open again.

It was the boy again, and he had brought Malfoy. The two spoke for several seconds, and then the boy passed Ginny and disappeared down the hall. She locked gazes with Malfoy, who walked toward her.

"Blaise told me I'd find a pretty little redhead out here," he said conversationally, "Have you seen her? Do you know which way she went?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Bastard." This close to him, she could see dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept much. "You know you find me attractive." She was back to flirting, which made her wonder if she had been acting simply because of a dare last night. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to know this.

There was along pause, during which Malfoy stepped back and raked his eyes up and down her body. She glared at him. "Don't be rude."

He smirked. "I was just... admiring your better qualities."

"Like hell you were."

He shrugged, looking suddenly devious. "You really do have a nice set of..." when she glared at him, he grinned, "...eyes." His grin was infectious, and she found herself almost smiling back. Stepping closer, she trailed a finger across his lower lip.

"That's what I thought you were going to say."

He had her up against the wall between breaths, his body pressed against hers. She inhaled slowly, shocked by the sudden movement. He was staring down at her with something akin to desire.

"This is nothing like attraction," he said, voice low and close to her ear. "I'm simply... proving a point."

She managed, somehow, to speak over the thudding of her heart. "What point?"

He was so close she could almost hear his own heart beating in sync with hers. "I can't remember," he said.

When their lips finally met, she lost all track of her heartbeat. It was simply him and his scent, tangy, like cinnamon. His hand rested at the base of her neck, at her pulse point, and the other gripping her wrist. She twisted her arm to get him to release it, and entwined her fingers with his, her other hand again in his hair. He was intoxicating, she realized, and she found herself ignoring the voice in her head that was telling her that he was Slytherin, an enemy, a _bastard_. These things didn't matter; what mattered was only the heat of the kiss and the things he was doing with his tongue. She could feel herself go weak in the knees— and she nearly grinned when he seemed to realize this and wrap an arm around her waist to hold her up.

He drew back and breathed in, deeply, his chest rising and falling. This time, she was not afraid to open her eyes, and she couldn't help the wide smile that escaped when she noticed the way his normally blue-grey eyes had darkened to a deep blue color. _That_ is attraction, she thought, before pulling him down for another kiss.

His hands were running up and down her back when a smug voice jarred them both back to reality.

"Well, well, well," purred the rather nasally voice of Holly Chase, who stood leaning against the wall across from them. She looked delighted at her unexpected find; she stood there, arms crossed, smirking, watching as the two jumped apart, both red in the face. "What do we have here?"

After a long, awkward pause, during which Malfoy coughed and Holly went on smirking, Ginny took a step forward. "Uh, Holly, right?"

This was the wrong move. Holly frowned. "Of course it is!" she snapped, as if everyone should know exactly who she was. Ginny sighed.

"Listen, you're not going to... tell anyone about this, are you?" It was hard to get out— it meant defeat; it meant that Holly had caught them doing something they weren't proud of, and this made her, if possible, even happier about catching them.

Holly seemed to contemplate this; she regarded Ginny for a long moment, grinning, and then suddenly switched to Malfoy, her attitude changing from smug to seductive in seconds. "Well," she purred, "It's not my policy to kiss and tell." She gave a twinkling laugh, as if this was a very clever remark.

They stared at her, completely confused. Naturally, Malfoy was the first to catch on. He smirked, moving forward toward Holly, who looked delighted. She glanced over at Ginny for the briefest of moments, looking smug, and then plastered herself to him, pressing her lips wetly to his.

Ginny tried hard not to look disgusted, and failed miserably.

Over Holly's shoulder, Malfoy was watching Ginny, his eyebrows up, as if challenging her to be jealous, or at least angry. And she _was_ angry, she realized, but not jealous. She didn't need to be jealous of Holly. He was obviously not into the kiss at all— he was looking at Ginny, for Merlin's sake! But she was angry that she had to watch it.

So she turned and left, taking care to keep her gait steady and slow. When she turned the corner, she stopped and leaned against the wall, feeling strange. She couldn't describe the feeling; it was like someone had poured something hot and cold at once down her throat and made it rise and fall in her stomach. It wasn't pleasant.

She sighed and closed her eyes, but all she could see was him, smirking a little, as he kissed that vulgar girl. Ginny shuddered and opened her eyes again, only to jump out of her skin and nearly scream.

Next to her, Malfoy was leaning casually, watching her. He smiled when she opened her eyes, a genuine smile, which was what scared her the most. From what she could remember, she had never seen him smile. Just a smirk, or a smug sort of half-grin; even a _grin_, sometimes, but never a smile.

It was a knee-weakening sort of smile, the kind that she knew could disarm any girl— possibly any boy if he tried really hard. Ginny tried not to look at it. Instead, she focused on his eyes, trying hard not to let him weaken her. This was something she had to go into strong.

"She won't tell," he told her, but she knew he really meant _I'm sorry_.

Ginny sighed. She shouldn't have to forgive him for anything. They were just…two students looking for a no-strings attached snog session. That was all, and they both knew it.

Still, there were so many things she wanted to say to him. _I'm so confused_, she wanted to say, or _Where do we go from here?_ Or maybe even something like _Maybe you're not as bad as I thought_.

She settled with something a little easier to say. "That was disgusting."

His smile never wavered. "I didn't know you had it in you to be jealous, Weaselette."

"I'm not."

He reached up and ran a finger gingerly through her hair, his eyes trained on her face. His smile had gone, replaced with a look she couldn't even _begin_ to decipher, his jaw tight. For a moment, she held her breath, highly conscious that his hand had left her hair and was now tracing a line across her jaw—

And then he was gone, disappeared around the corner, and he had left her standing there, strung up on his intimacies of moments before. She paused a moment, trying to calm her now-rapid breathing, and then poked her head around the corner.

Malfoy was leaning against the wall, his chest heaving, his eyes closed, hands clenched. He breathed deeply, and then opened his eyes. She knew he could see her out of the corner of his eyes, so she stood still, watching him.

He inhaled, almost a gasp, closed his eyes, opened them again. "Maybe," he began, "It _is_ something like attraction." His voice came out choked; she laughed, despite herself. Draco Malfoy, getting emotional? Over _her_? She could imagine the reactions of her friends if they ever found out…

He turned and stared at her bemusedly. "What the bloody hell is so funny?" The look on his face only made her laugh harder, until she was leaning against the wall to support herself. Eventually, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes, she calmed down.

"Sorry," Ginny gasped, grinning widely, "It's just that…" Unable to think of some way to explain her laughter, she shook her head. "What Ron would say, if he ever found out about… us…" This thought sent her into another gale of laughter.

Malfoy said something which she couldn't hear over her laughter. She slowly calmed down, breathing deeply. "Sorry," she apologized, "What was that?"

Malfoy paused. "…He _won't_ find out, will he?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "My brother is the most clueless boy on the planet," she told him, "I doubt he'll ever figure it out."

There was a long moment during which they stared at each other, each silently trying to figure out where they stood with each other. After a moment, Ginny sighed and stepped closer. She didn't want to give an ultimatum, but she needed to know; she wasn't going to invest more emotion into this if he wasn't going to. "We could keep this up," she said, "Or we could walk away. Which is it going to be?"

The awkward silence stretched on for what seemed like forever before Malfoy made his move. Then he turned away from her and left, saying nothing, his footsteps echoing like heartbreak in the empty hall. Ginny watched him go, feeling ultimately lonely for the first time in all her fifteen years. She stood there for only a second, and then turned and moved back around the corner, heading numbly back toward Gryffindor Tower. With any luck, she thought vaguely, she'd make it back before lunch.

Like food really mattered right now.

She sighed, stopping in her tracks. _Stop it,_ she told herself firmly, _stop this right now. Your crush on Harry lasted too long as it was. Don't you dare let yourself get hung up on some heat-of-the-moment infatuation with that git Malfoy._

_It's not just infatuation,_ whispered a little voice in her head. Ginny shook that voice away. There was no use letting her feelings keep up with this nonsense. No use at all.

She turned at the sound of footsteps, rapidly approaching. And before she could even think _It's him_, Malfoy had her in his arms, holding her tight against him, his face buried in her neck. "Stay," he mumbled against her skin.

Ginny did her best to ignore the thrill that went through her. "What am I supposed to say to that?"

He pulled back, staring down at her. For the first time, she realized just how much taller he was than her. How had she not noticed this? "I would think it would be obvious," he said, "Say you'll meet me here tomorrow night, same time."

"What if I don't want to?" she replied, coy.

Malfoy pulled her towards him, brushing his lips against hers, once, twice, teasingly. He smirked at her sharp intake of breath. "That doesn't even make it into the equation, Weaselette."

She smiled against his lips, thinking. "Same time, you said?"

He made a noise of assent, kissing her full on the lips; she reveled in the feeling for only a moment, and then pulled back so there was only an inch of space between them. "See you then," she whispered, before slipping out of his arms and off down the hall.

_Maybe there was some good behind Truth or Dare,_ she thought, —_you just had to know how to play the game._

----&----

_much thanks to adva the ardvaark for her support and beta-testing._

_(if you read it and you like it please review it seevooplay...it)_


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